Metal products are often replaced with plastic ones with metal-plating. The metallic coat on the surface provides the product with a metallic look, as well as electric conductivity, chemical durability, light reflectivity etc. The product is generally lighter as the specific weight of plastic is very low in comparison with metal. Thickness of the metallic layer on the plastic surface is usually from several units to hundreds of micrometers. The metal is usually applied on the surface by galvanization after the first conductive layer is created on the surface. The first layer is usually created by chemical vapor deposition (PCD) or physical vapor deposition in vacuum (PVD). The advantage of metal-plating is a lower price of the product in comparison with an all-metal product because plastic is cheaper than metal and because forming of plastic is more precise in comparison with complicated machining of metal castings.
A disadvantage is lower strength and durability of plastic products, as well as their higher flexibility in comparison with flexibility of a metallic coat. This may cause defects, such as surface cracks, because the supporting structure of a product is made of plastic with additional different properties in comparison with metal, such as, primarily, thermal expansion and thermal conductivity. The low thermal conductivity of the plastic structural part is also the reason that the product feels like plastic rather than metal, which would always take heat from the hand in a usual manner. The objective of this invention is to make products of geopolymer composite with a surface metallic layer while such products may in many cases replace metal products and, in comparison with plastic products, they feature higher mechanical strength and specific weight, higher resistance to high and low temperatures and higher thermal conductivity with a better subjective impression when touching the product with hand or grabbing it.